Civic Society Executive Away Day raises the bar

Over recent months, Pontefract Civic Society has formed an internal Futures Group, which comprises the Chair, Vice-Chair and Secretary, their role being to develop the society’s strategic direction. After the recent AGM, it was clear that an Executive Away Day would achieve clear benefits for the society and the town, and Richard Metcalfe at Rogerthorpe Manor Hotel was keen to support this venture, which took place at the hotel last week.

17 society members drawn from trustees, a few other committee members and brand new people to the civic society went through a challenging series of sessions.

Our day got off to an inspirational start with Anton Maree, the Head of Ackworth School (a new member to the civic society) delivering a rousing keynote speech on leadership & teamwork, where he said "How does an outsider become an insider? Learn from others, be humble, value other people, be appreciative, laugh & have fun, and don't be afraid to change your mind".

A horizon scanning exercise and other models followed, together with a review of potential delivery projects, together with the technology needed to support the running of a good organisation. The society also looked at feedback for what adults and young people wish to see in the town, as well as reviewing the output of a Civic Voice “healthcheck” tool which identified where we need to improve in the future.

After lunch, the second keynote speaker (another new member) Phil Atkinson MD of Pontefract-based global events safety management business, A.C.T. National Ltd. Phil said "We need to be innovative and invest our energy into developing the society, by finding new members, and new initiatives to ensure the voice of Pontefract is heard. If we don’t, the town could quite simply be left behind". He went onto ask "Why shouldn’t a successful business be based here? Why shouldn’t Pontefract be successful in its own right?”

Paul Cartwright, civic society Chair said “the day went really quickly and was an incredible success in moving from explaining some of the Executive’s current strategic thinking to what other key members would add, however, we need more people from the community to come and join the society to help deliver new projects in Pontefract”.

For further information on talks from Pontefract Civic Society, go to the website http://www.pontefractcivicsociety.org.uk, or email on .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
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